Pub owner faces 70k bill after his business was flooded twice in a month by tidal surges

A landlord is facing a repairs bill of
at least £70,000 after a Solway high tide surged into his hotel for the
second time in a month.

Robert McNaught said that, although he
and his staff were better prepared with sandbags at the weekend, there was still six inches of water in the bar.

Despite the problems the Anchor, at Kippford, has remained open.

Tidal surges on Saturday caused the latest round of problems in the village.

Mr
McNaught said: “That’s twice in four weeks the bar has been flooded and
it hadn’t happened in 30 years before that. We were up until half past
two that night as well as we were worried it would happen again at the next high tide.

“But luckily this time we have been better prepared with sandbags. We knew it was coming over half an hour before high tide.

“It’s
been about six inches deep inside but you can see under the lounge windows that the water has been about three feet deep outside. Thankfully we kept a lot out this time.

“It’s up to £70,000 in damages so far and I’ve got a skip out the front which I keep on filling but we’ve never closed.

“We
were brushing water out as customers were coming in at one point although we’re bound to have lost some business with people not coming in as they think we’re closed or people leaving early to make sure they can get their cars out of
the village.”

Workmen are due on site next week to start repairs but Robert stressed he and his staff will keep going.

“The
builders are coming on Monday and we’ll need to close the public bar as
all the floorboards and beams need replaced,” he added. “But the lounge
will still be open. It’s business as usual as far as we are concerned.”

Sea
water caused havoc at other properties in the village and roads were closed. Residents of Roughfirth face a “nightmare” bill to repair their
crumbling access.

But problems have been caused by more than water.One woman, who asked not to
be named, said: “Cockle shells had been forced on to the road by the tide. It was such a nightmare and we
had to get a small digger to clear them as we were isolated.”

The
resident said the village had been hit at least three times in recent weeks with the access road to her home and numerous other properties suffering major damage as foundation rocks were washed into the sea.

She
added: “We all pay so much a year into a fund but I imagine it will be quite an expense and I’m sure we’re not out the woods yet.”